For more than 25 years, the Southborough resident has been collecting stereoscopic slides which, when viewed with a special device called a stereoscope, produce an image some describe as 3-D.

Dating from the mid-1800s, stereoscopic slides aren't high-tech by today's standards, but if you look at them through the stereoscope, the pictures pop out at you so vividly they make you feel like you're part of the scene.

Stereophotography was invented around the middle of the 19th century in time to catch some of the nation's most significant events, including the Civil War and the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.

The concept is the same as Fisher-Price's View-Master toy, which recently celebrated its 65th birthday. Two almost identical photographs are mounted side by side on a cardboard slide. When viewed through a stereoscope, the images converge into one and produce a depth of field within the image.

The appeal for Muggeridge goes beyond the "wow" factor of the images. Many of the photos she has in her collection of more than 1,000 slides depict scenes from more than a century ago - 150 years in some cases.

Looking at a picture of a wagon train going down the Ute Trail in Colorado, Muggeridge admired the scene.

"This is a moment in time that will never be captured again," she said.

Muggeridge's collection includes some photographs showing the aftermath of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 and the huge blaze that destroyed much of Boston the following year.

Each stereoscopic slide has a description of the picture, plus some history. An image called "Answer to the Kaiser," has a great 3-D effect with American soldiers from World War I standing at attention in row upon row that seem to stretch to the horizon.

Other scenes are more grisly, such as one called "The Sniper," which shows the body of a dead German soldier.

Muggeridge finds the stereophotos at flea markets, auctions and also on the Internet. Muggeridge proudly displays a set made by the Keystone View Co. at the turn of the 20th century. Originally, the slides were sold by door-to-door salesmen.

"I think it was the precursor to television - to be able to learn about places they have never been," Muggeridge said.

The stereoscope cards can be found online for as little as a few dollars to well over $100, Muggeridge said. A hierarchy of popular subjects has developed, with images of children or animals being popular, as are photos of railroads, circuses and the Civil War. Also, subjects such as scenes of the lives of African-Americans from the late 19th and early 20th centuries are much sought after.

Muggeridge has her own favorites.

"I enjoy finding and collecting local scenes of New England," Muggeridge said, "but I probably most enjoy ones in the West. At the time, the country was probably populated mostly through the Mississippi Valley, and Colorado and other areas were largely untouched."

Muggeridge became interested in stereophotographs by looking at her parents' collection.

"One year for Christmas I said to my parents, 'If you are not using them, I would love them,"' Muggeridge said.

Now, she scours flea markets, yard sales, auctions and even eBay for the slides.

On a recent trip to France, she purchased a large set of glass slides from a photography shop in Paris.

"They belonged to one of the employee's father," Muggeridge said. "He was a Le Journal photographer named Jacques de Marsillac."

Not only does she collect the stereograph cards, Muggeridge has started taking her own 3-D images. She joins her fellow stereophotography enthusiasts at the Stereo New England club.

"You couldn't get a nicer group of people," Muggeridge said. "And they are willing to share their knowledge."

The group meets at Fay School in Southborough, and there are about 49 members, said Jay McCreery, a Franklin resident who said he is best described as the group's moderator.

"We don't have formal structure," said McCreery, who joined the group in 1989. "I am also one of the projectionists and the Web master."

The stereophotography bug bit McCreery early, and the interest runs in the family. In the early 1900s, McCreery's grandfather hired stereoview card maker Keystone View to come to his Framingham home to photograph McCreery's mother, aunt and uncle.

"These are views that I still have," McCreery said. "My grandfather collected the views and got me interested at an early age."

It is possible to shoot the 3-D images with one camera, McCreery said, but it is easier if you have two.

"In 1988, I began using twin cameras connected with a wire, and about a year ago went to digital SLR (single lens reflex) cameras connected by a wire," McCreery said.

Many create their images using the old cardboard slides, but many prepare the digital slides that can be easily projected onto a screen.

Using StereoPhoto Maker, a software program that can be downloaded free on the Internet, the shots from the two cameras can be combined into an image that will appear 3-D if viewed with special polarized glasses.

"That is what we do at our meetings," McCreery said. "We have facilities to project both digital images and slides, and the audience wears (polarized) glasses."

Stereo New England meetings also allow members to share their collections and their know-how.

"We have workshops from time to time, where we teach newcomers how to make their own 3-D images," McCreery said. "Digital photography has made it very easy if you are computer literate."

The next Stereo New England meeting will be held April 13 at Fay School's Harris Event Center, and is open to the public. For more information on the group or the meeting go to the group's Web site, www.sne3d.org.

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